Olympia girls lacrosse heading back to Final Four

A little less than a year ago, they got a taste.

The Olympia Titans girls lacrosse team topped Oviedo in its third round play-in match, 11-10, punching a ticket to the 2014 FHSAA Final Four. 

There, the Titans were soundly defeated by Ponte Vedra in the state semifinal, 12-5 — a memory that has stuck with the program’s returning players.

And although that disappointing finish to the 2014 season might have added fuel to the belief of some that Olympia’s run that spring was a fluke, the Titans are determined that their return trip to state this weekend — a trip they booked April 24 with a 15-6 beatdown of Timber Creek — will serve as a chance for redemption.

With Olympia again set to take the field against Ponte Vedra in the state semifinal, the stage could not have been set much better.

“It’s awesome,” said junior Ashley Matthews, who had five goals for Olympia in the win over the Wolves. “Last year, many people thought it was luck — we’re proving that it’s not luck and we’re actually a really good team.”

That there has been an air of unfinished business — and a striking sense of purpose to pair with it — all season has been obvious enough to first-year coach Elyse DeLisle.

“I think last year made them super hungry to go back,” said DeLisle, also a program alumna. “I’m actually blown away with the maturity that they play with.”

That maturity will come in handy because, at this point in the state playoffs, skill only counts for so much. When the Titans take the field against Ponte Vedra at noon Friday at IMG Sports Academy in Bradenton, it will be a battle of wits and will as much as anything else.

“It’s all mental at this point,” DeLisle said. “We’ve learned the X’s and O’s; we’ve learned footwork and body-positioning. … At this point, it’s mentally preparing ourselves for a game to go either way and digging deep to win.”

Even with it being just her first year at the helm, DeLisle may be the perfect person to lead her alma mater over the hump. 

After all, just two years ago she was playing goalkeeper for Rollins in the NCAA Division II National Semifinal (a 11-10 loss in two overtimes to Limestone). That remarkable run came a year after the Tars advanced to the Division II championships but were soundly defeated in the first round, 19-10 — creating a parallel, of sorts, for her to share with her players.

“I’ve been there,” DeLisle said. “It’s exciting, and it’s doable.”

It could be especially attainable for the Titans if they continue to execute their game plan as they have of late. Olympia, at the time ranked No. 5 in the state by LaxPower.com, got rolling and left No. 6 Timber Creek in its dust on April 24. The Titans outscored Timber Creek 13-3 in the game’s final 43 minutes.

“We’re really fluid,” Matthews said. “We all work so well together. There are so many looks out of the offenses we do.”

If Olympia can resemble a well-oiled machine on offense at times, it can be equally effective on the defensive end. After a slow start, the Titans’ defense buckled down a third of the way into the first half against the Wolves, with some key stops that later translated into goals.

“My team, we just feed a lot off of momentum,” De-Lisle said. “It takes the defense making those big plays for the attack to step it up and realize that they need to capitalize off of those big plays.”

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].